This Texas border city is tired of being a ‘pawn’ in Trump’s ‘political games’

Just a few blocks from a riverbank park in Eagle Pass that's been turned into a no-go militarized zone by Texas troops, local pastor Javier Leyva was attempting a normal Sunday.

He was cultivating fellowship with congregants of his First United Methodist church and other residents downtown, on the US-Mexico border. But, as so often, events were to intrude. A fringe, rightwing group was headed to town.

His small city is under unwanted global scrutiny because of people migrating here and the forces that want to stop them.

People sporadically cross the Rio Grande from Mexico after being denied legal entry into the US because of tight government restrictions. Sometimes there are tragic consequences, sometimes migrants are detained by US federal agents, other times they run afoul of the $11bn Texas border security plan known as Operation Lone Star, designed to deter migration.

Leyva is tired of the heavy-handed and expensive law enforcement presence, that has transformed the picturesque riverbank and not only skews perceptions of Eagle Pass but is costly, while he sees local services suffer.

"It's all a political show and they're using Eagle Pass as a pawn for their political games," Leyva said. "I'm for border security, but if they would use that money for the infrastructure here, we'd be in hog heaven," he said.

About 23% of Eagle Pass residents are estimated to live below the federal poverty line, more than double the national rate, according to the US Census Bureau.